Travel: Eating our way in Singapore

My friend Len & I spent four glorious days in Singapore.  It was a business & pleasure trip.  It was my second time to visit Singapore. The first time was seven years ago when my youngest brother worked and lived there.  During those 10 days in 2005, all we ever did was eat.  Too bad I wasn’t into blogging & photography yet.  We feasted on Hainanese chicken, rojak, roti prata with curry, murtabak, tandoori, horfan noodles, oyster cakes, laksa in Chinatown, iced kachang, beef rendang, and the most memorable was the chili crabs we had at No Sign Board restaurant in Geylang. 

This is what we ate during our 4 day Singapore trip…in pictures.

This was what we had for our late lunch/early dinner on the day we arrived. A noodle soup with wanton & char siu pork. It was in one of the hawker center along Balestier road near our hotel.  Dinner for me was a whole durian fruit.

Hainanese Chiken & chili crabs at Wee Nam Kee in Marina Square.

Durian crispy pancake paired with grape juice at Bugis Market.

A wide variety of fruit juices to chose from for S$1.00 at Bugis Market.

Durian ice cream inbetween 2 thin wafers

In Chinatwon, we found this German stall selling sausages, pretzels & other bread.

Len & I shared this grilled bratwurst.

Laksa dinner at Marina Bay Sands food court

And the peri peri chicken wiht spicy rice & grilled vegetables at Nando’s

Travel: Nando's of Singapore

Eversince I saw a restaurant named Peri Peri in Greenhills, my curiosity was stoked. I haven’t had the chance to try it though. On our last day, a Sunday, of our 4 day Singapore trip, I was able to get to know what peri peri is all about. It was on a bus going to Marina Bay area on our second day that we saw Nando’s along Victoria Street in Bugis. Len said we should try it.

Pili pili is the Swahili word for 'pepper pepper'. African Birds Eye Chili is also called peri peri, pili pili, or piri piri. Piri piri is the spelling of the name as used in the Portuguese language.

Piri-piri sauce (used as a seasoning or marinade) is Portuguese in origin and "especially prevalent in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa". It is made from crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano, and tarragon.

~ source, en.wikipedia.org

We woke up very late that Sunday. And was out of the house around 3PM to tour the city on our own. We haven’t had our lunch yet. Breakfast that morning was at the nearby hawker center with Len having a roti prata with curry, while I feasted on nasi goreng.  By the time we rode the bus going to Bugis, Len & I were both very hungry.

I was excited to find out what Nando’s has to offer. Michelle, my niece described it as “sort of Mang Inasal chicken”.   Imagine my  surprise when I found it out it was peri peri chicken!

Written in their menu’s side of flame grilled chicken… “in life there are moments when it’s hard to make a choice. This is one of them” It was funny yet so true. I didn’t know what to order.

Len & I ordered & shared classic meal of half chicken with 2 sidelines (S$22.90). And since we’re both not quite adventurous when it comes to the amount of heat in our food, we got the mildest lemon & herb sauce.  For the side dishes, we opted for the spicy rice and grilled veggies.

We ordered another side dish of sweet potato mash (no photo as we were busy eating already), a coarsely mashed boiled sweet potatoes flavored with cinnamon, which I immensely enjoyed.  Len said, “parang dessert na rin!”

The chicken meat was indeed flavorful, complemented by the mild spicy sauce. The skin was perfectly charred with no bitter taste.

Though not part of Singaporean cuisine (it’s Portuguese), Nando’s was the perfect meal to cap our Singapore trip. I wish someone would bring Nando’s franchise here in the Philippines.

Nando’s

Bugis Junction

200 Victoria Street

Singapore 188021

Tel No. 63386555

http://www.nandos.com.sg

Travel: Ho Chi Minh: Banh Mi

The French’s colonization of Vietnam left a mark evidently seen in the country’s architecture and food.

One French influence in Vietnamese cuisine is the baguette. 

I don’t know how they do it, but the baguette in Vietnam has a different character from those I tried here back home. I told Lenz, “parang may drugs yata, I can’t stop myself from eating this”.  From the slices of baguette they served in the hotel during breakfast, to the slices of baguette that accompanied the Saigon beef stew we had for dinner over at Highlands Coffee…and not to forget the baguette sandwich peddled at every street corner in Saigon, called Banh Mi.  Saigon’s baguette is crusty and crackly on the outside and soft on the inside (it must be from the combination of wheat and rice flour). The way I like my French bread to be.  I could imagine myself eating this bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and I would be in nirvana.

Like the famous pho, it is a crime to leave Vietnam without savoring this fusion of French & Asian sandwich.  It is made with baguette filled with various meat fillings – from sliced meats, liver pate, pork floss, cilantro, cucumber slices, tomatoes, pickled carrots and daikon, mayonnaise and smothered with a dark sauce.  You can also request to include fried egg as additional filling.

We had this twice, one as a snack and another during our second day as an early dinner meal before we left for the airport.  And much like our own adobo, it varies from vendor to vendor. One serving of Banh Mi costs around 15,000 dong or less than 50 pesos.

Travel: Ho Chi Minh: Vietnamese Coffee on a rainy morning

Day 2 of my Saigon adventure.  It was raining when we woke up very early the  next day.   We plan to hit Ben Tanh market for some pho and spring rolls and do a bit of shopping.  I also planned to walk along Pasteur street for more street food, but we can’t do that because of the rain.

When we went down to the lobby, hotel breakfast wasn’t ready yet.  I wanted coffee from the nearby “Starbucks” – manned by a kindly Manang Vietnamese.  The store in front was still close and Saigon was still waking up from its slumber.  

Manang Vi (that’s what I call her) had set up some small monoblock chairs, stools and tables in front of the store (which she would later dismantle when the clothing/bags store opens).  I ordered coffee with milk for me and black coffee for  Lenz.  Lenz decided to wait inside the hotel. While I, wanted to savor the cool rain, watching as people go about their morning rituals. Taking photos from where I sat on a stool as Manang Vi prepared our cups of coffee.

My Vietnamese coffee with milk.  Take note of the condensed milk at the bottom of the glass.

Later, two local men sat beside me and ordered coffee.  For the next several minutes, we all just sat there enjoying our coffee and the rain. It was all so laid back. So relaxing. So far away from the stress of work, the pressure to earn a living and deadlines.  

image taken with my iphone.

I won’t forget this one particular Saigon morning…. raining (oh how I love rainy days)… sipping a cup of sweet, milky Vietnamese coffee.  I wish I could do this everyday.

PS

I wanted to bring a piece of Saigon with me back home. Later, at Ben Tanh Market, I bought 2 kilos of weasel coffee… to share with my Mom and Sir B and my friend R.

Here’s a funny exchange with my friend R after telling him that the coffee beans are gathered from the poops of weasels.  Weasels are fed coffee beans and the undigested beans are excreted, then gathered for processing.

R:  Sigurado ka hinugasan nila yung beans?

Me: HINDI! Hahaha…. Kaya pakuluan mo yung tubig mo ng mabuti…

Of course, we were just joking.

This morning, I got a message from R…. “masarap yung coffee.”

:)

Travel: Ho Chi Minh How to eat Cha Tom

When we used to frequent Vietnam Foodhouse in Megamall  more than ten years ago, Cha Tom is one of the dishes we always order.  I love this because it’s light and refreshing  and because you get to eat a lot of vegetables with it.   As I have written in my earlier entry, Cha Tom is an appetizer of shrimp patty wrapped around a sugarcane stick and grilled. Why on a sugarcane stick, most probably, to impart a sweet flavor from the sugarcane juice.

So a trip to Quan An Ngon is not complete without my favorite Vietnamese dish. 

The shrimp in sugarcane stick came with a plate of vegetables like lettuce, basil, mint, vermicelli topped with peanuts and chives, cucumber, pickled jicama and carrots, rice paper and the ever present dipping sauce Nuoc Nam Pla.  It didn’t come with a bowl of water to wet the rice paper, I had to ask the waitress for one.  For those who will be going to HCMC  and going to try this dish for the first time, let me warn you that, if you let  your server do the wrapping for you, in Vietnam they do it with bare hands.

These series of photos will show you how to enjoy this lovely appetizer.  

Remove the shrimp meat from the sugarcane sticks. Cut into small pieces.

Wet the rice paper with water to slightly soften it and make it pliable and easy to work with. Place a piece of lettuce leaf and basil leaves on top of the rice paper.

Place a piece of softened vermicelli noodles on top of the lettuce/rice paper.

Add a piece of shrimp patty and layer with more herbs, cucumber, pickled jicama and carrots.

Roll 

Dip in nuoc nam pla and enjoy!